Electrical transmission system



Sept. 26, 1961 R. L. JENNER ETAL 3,002,043

ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 10, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS RALPH L. JENNER SBQ IPSON BRENT MILLS T HEIR ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1961 R. JENNER ET AL ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 10, 1955 s S heets-Shet 2 JENNER gl MPsON BRENT MILLS INVENTORS RALPH L.

THEIR ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1961 Rfl... JENNER ET AL ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM Original Filed Nov. 10, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS RALPH L. JENNER SBIyIP'SON BRENT MILLS THEIR ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 8 Claims. (Cl. 174--40) This invention relates to supporting and insulating means for high voltage electrical transmission systems, oneobject of the invention being to provide an improved system embodying more efiicient and economical principles of construction.

Another object is to provide a system of this character having atype of construction which is safer against flashover interruption of the power line and more eco nomical to maintain.

Another object is the provision of such a system by which existing installations may be readily and safely converted to transmit power more economically under higher voltages. V I

A further object is to supply an improved construction ofisuch'a nature that new systems maybe erected with a right-of-way of 'less width and less cost than formerly required, particularly in thickly populated areas. 7 Atfurther object is to provide a system of the character described so .constructed as to permit the use of poles or towers with :cross arm' means of reduced length, to thereby increase their strength and resistance to the forces which may be applied under abnormal conditions such as result from broken conductors, weather conditions and the like, thus :reducing the cost of construction 'and maintenance of the systemwand the liklihood of damage to it and adjacent property.

'Stilla further object is the supply of a system by means of which *the above advantages 'are provided in a construction "which is readily and economically manufactured, erected and maintained in operating condition.

To these and other endsthe invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation of a double three phase circuitelectrical transmission system supported by insulating members from cross arms on a single pole;

"FIG. 2 is a similar view but showing a single three phase circuit supported by a cross arm on a two pole support;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a somewhat different arrangement of the insulating members and cross arm means;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation partly in section and partly broken away showing 'a stru type insulating member employed in my invention;

. FIG. 5 is a'fragmentary elevation showing one of the pin and clevis attachment means for the ends of the insulating member of 'FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is anelevation partly broken away and partly in section of a suspension type string of insulating elements which may be employed in my invention;

FIG. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line "77 in FIG. 6 of a connection between the suspension typeinsulating elements, and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a cotter pin securing means shownin FIG. 7.

Electrical transmission systems for lines carrying voltinsulating the line conductors from the supporting structures, rigid and flexible. The rigid group includes two major types: pin type and post type. Pin type insulators consist of one or more porcelain parts with projecting flanges, these parts attached together in nested relation ship, 'ifmore than one, and provided with means at the top for attaching the conductor and means within the porcelain part for mounting on a pin or similar device which is attached to v.the cross arm. Post insulators consist, usually, of one porcelain unit with means at theupper end for attachment of the conductor, the lower end being cemented into a metal base or cup which holds the porcelain and whichlprovides for attachment to the cross arm.

The other supporting means commonlyemployed have been of the suspension type construction in which a numberof insulating elements are connected one above another by flexible connectingmeans to forma flexible or jointed string suspended from a cross arm andoperating in tension, but not in compression, in supporting a line conductor. A variation of this type of construction is employed in dead end or strain resisting means at the end of and in line with the conductor.

The present invention provides a different typeof construction comprising the support of a line conductor at a given point by two insulator members at least one of which is capable of resisting stresses of either compression or tension, so arranged that the conductor is maintained in a predetermined controlled position and insulating :spacing from the pole or its arm or other supporting means, with the several advantages pointed out-below.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows :in a somewhat schematic way a -.double, three phase circuit system on asingle pole 10 provided with cross arms 11m 14, inclusive. Phe'upper cross .arm 11 is braced to the pole as at 15 and at one end supports a suspension type :string of insulating elements 16 of .the drnown construction referredto above, connected together flay jointed or otherwise 'flexible means, as hereafter described in more detail. This suspension :type insulating means or member is :eonnected at its :upper end to the cross arm and :at its lower end to :the known :or :suitable tclamp'ingmeans forzattach'in'g it :to the line conductor 17, so that this .insulating means operates in tension as the main provision :for supporting .the Weight or downward pull on the conductor. Combined with this suspension =type insulating' meansis a second insulating member 18 of substantially rigid construction capable of resisting stresses of both-compression and tension, as hereafter moreparticularlydescribed. Oneend of insulating memberlBis-connected as-at 1-9in any known and suitaible "manner to the lower end of the suspension insulating means or to the conductor at substantially 'the same point, while the other end of member 18 is movably connected to the pole as by means of pivotal attach- :ment to an ang-ular clip- -20, as shown, or other known and suitable attachingmeans. Member 18 is'thus provided to act as a strut support for holding conductor 17 in a predetermined controlled position, against being swung substantially inside sway, relatively to the pole or adjacent structures, as by .means of wind pressure, so as to maintain 'a predetermined insulating clearance corresponding to the voltage impressed upon the conductor.

This combination of suspension type and strut type insulators is shown in asomewhat difi'erentarrangement at the other end of cross arm 11 which carries a suspension type string .of insulators 21, as described above supporting a line conductor 22. .In this arrangement .the strut .type insulator .23 .is connected .With .the conductor and .movably connected to the pole .as previously dedescribed above.

scribed, but is of greater length so as to maintain the conductor at a greater distance outwardly from the pole and beyond the end of the cross arm, to maintain a greater insulating clearance and provide for the use of a higher impressed voltage than might otherwise be properly impressed on the conductor. In such' an arrangement the suspension type String also may be lengthened as shown at 21. The intermediate pair of cross arms 12 and 13, braced as at 24, support conductors 25 and 26 in substantially the same arrangement as 'describedabove, except that cross arm 12 is of greater length, .cross arm 13 of less lengthand the strut type insulators 27 and 28 have their inner end movably connected to the short cross arm 13,

The lower cross arm 14 supports the remaining condoctors 29 and 30 in the arrangement described above in 7 connection with the top cross arm 11, except that in this case the suspension type insulators arereplaced by strut type insulating members 31 and 32, as may be desirable where the structure is subject to uplift on the conductor, as well understood inth'e art, or other condition requiring more positive positioning of the conductors. l

e A two-pole supportings'ystem is shown in FIG. 2, where the poles 33- and 34 are connected by a crossarm 35 and by inclined cross braces 36 and 37. One end of :cross arm 35 supports a suspension type string of insulatthe other end pivotally to the clip 20 on the supporting pole or cross arm, as described above, so as to alford a limited swinging movement of the insulator on the pole or cross arm in response to longitudinal stresses in the conductor. However, to accommodate higher ranges of voltage, two or more one-piece units such as described above may be rigidly fastened together in alignment with one another, as well understood in the art.

The suspension type string of insulating members referred to above may have the known type of construction shown in FIG. 6 in which each skirted porcelain element 65 has an undercut head 66 in which is cemented the upper end of an eye or ball bolt 67. The lower end ing elements 38 supporting a conductor 39 to which is connected also a strut type insulator 40, such as referred to above, having its other end movably connected at 41 to the other end of brace 36. In this arrangement, the

d insulating members are both maintained in an outwardly inclined position, as shown, by the weight of the conthe conductor than ;the arrangement described above at the other end of the cross arm. The third conductor 45 is supported from the center or the cross arm by a suspension type string of elements 46 and by a strut type insulator 47 connecting the conductor andthe pole 33 as described above so as to prevent the swinging of the conductor towardeither pole.

A' different two-pole arrangement isshown in FIG. 3 in which the two poles 48 and 49 are connected by a crossarm 50, the ends of which support the conductors 5:1 and 52, each by means of a suspension type string of insulating elements 53 and a strut type member 54, as The third conductor 55 is supported intermediate the poles, as described abovein connection with the arrangement shown in FIG. ,2. In this arrangement, all of the conductors are supported by. pairs of insulating members extending at right angles. to each other, as shown. While the above arrangements have been described as comprising supporting poles, it' is contemplated that the same arrangements are applicable where structural steel towers are employed instead of poles and provided with supporting cross arm means, as

well understood in the art, the term upright supporting means as employed in the appended claims being em-' ployed generically as including both single elements or poles of natural ,or fabricated material and frame structures or towers, as well understood in the art. I

A strut type insulator, as referred to above, is shown by way of illustration in FIGS. 4 and 5. The elongated insulating member 56 is preferably of one-piece porcelain construction withthe usual insulating skirts 57 and metallic caps 58 and 59 secured to its ends as by means of cement 60. Each'cap has an extension 61 which may be a single plate-like lug formed with an eye 62, or may take the form of clevis parts 63 formed with eyes for the reception of. a pin 64, the member 56 being thus adapted for the attachment thereto of means for connecting one end to the usual conductor clamp and connecting .pull on the supporting means. able the use of smaller, lighter and less, expensive cross 7 of each ball bolt has a shouldered head 68 inserted through a lateral opening 69 ,(FIG. 7) into a socket 70 in they metalcap 71 cemented to the next lower insulating element. A cotter pin 72 is inserted through'a small opposite opening 73 in the cap so as to lie under the head 68 of the bolt and prevent its inadvertent detachment, thus providing for the assembly of any desired number of insulating elements or for the replacement of any which may be disabled. The cap 74 of the upper element of the string is preferably provided with an attaching ball hook connector 75 connected to the insulator cap by a ball and socket joint such as described above, while the bolt of the lower element 65 is preferably connected by a similar ball and socket joint with an attaching eye connector 76, as shown, so that the insulator string'may be attached to means for connecting'its upper end to a cross arm and its lower end to the usual line conductor clamp. The described construction provides a string of insulating elements having a jointed or flexible connection'with one another and adapted to supporttensile stresses imposed by the weight of the line conductor. The construction of these parts illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, is well known in the art and its particular details form no part of the present invention, but it is contemplated that either this or other known and suitable suspension type assernblies of insulating elements may ent combination.

A supporting and insulating system such as described affords a number of important advantages. It is readily applicable to the poles. or towers of existing lines to support the line conductors against swinging out of a substantially fixed position, thereby maintaining a minimum insulating clearance from the pole or other structures be employed in the presand increasing the voltage which may be safely impressed 7 upon the conductor. This advantage is obtained by the arrangement of the insulating members at right angles to each other, as in the case of the members 16 and 18 in use of at least one strut type insulator, although both members of the pair maybe of the strut type where so desired. A further advantageous use of the invention is in connection with angles in the line to support the conductor in substantially fixed position with respect to the supporting means against stresses existing. as a result of angle in the line. The invention thus provides for stepping up by substantial amounts the permissible voltage on existing lines with a minimum of expense, while also decreasing the likelihood of short-circuiting of the line and the resulting damage and expense. I

In application to new power line installations, the invention affords the advantages among others that, for a given voltage, the cross arm supporting means maybe made shorter than where the line is ,free to swing on flexible suspension type strings of insulating members. The insulating members afford a limited yielding move.- ment in response to a longitudinal pull on the conductor and a reduction in the length of the cross arms which reduces the torque force which may be imposed where a conductor is broken and left with a heavy longitudinal Such considerations en- 7 arm means, while minimizing the likelihood of damage to the installation and adjacent property reducing the cost of maintenance. Furthermore, such reduction in the overall width of the system permits of the use of a right-of-way of less width and less cost, particularly in thickly populated communities where right of way is most expensive.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

This application is a continuation of our application, Serial No. 546,043, filed November 10, 1955, and now abandoned.

We claim: I

1. An electrical high voltage power transmission system comprising a transmitting conductor therefor, upright supporting means spaced apart longitudinally of said conductor and each including a cross arm extending transversely of said conductor, a first elongated member of insulating material having one end connected to said cross arm and depending therefrom with its other end connected to said conductor for tensile stressing to support the weight thereof and space said conductor from said cross arm and a second elongated substantially rigid member of insulating material having a connection at one end with said conductor and extending at an angle to 7 said first member, and means at the other end of said second member movably connecting the same to said supporting means, for stressing in both tension and compression, to restrain lateral movement of said conductor and maintain its insulating clearance, said members being movable relative to said supporting means to accommo- 4. A high voltage electrical transmission system as specified in claim 1 in which said second insulating member is a rigid strut of porcelain material having a metal cap at one end connected to said conductor and a metal cap at its other end pivotally connected to said supporting means.

'5. A high voltage electrical transmission system as specified in claim 1 in which said first insulating member is a flexible suspension type string of insulating elements having one end of said member connected to said conductor and its other end connected to and depending from said cross arm in tensile stressing to support the weight of said conductor.

6. A high voltage electrical transmission system as specified in claim 1 in which said first insulating member is an elongated substantially rigid element of insulating material having one end connected to said cross arm and depending therefrom with its other end connected to said conductor.

7. A high voltage electrical transmission system as specified in claim 1 in which said second insulating member is extended to position said conductor beyond the end of said cross arm.

8. A high voltage electrical transmission system as specified in claim 1 in which said first insulating member is connected substantially directly to said conductor and to said cross arm and said second insulating member is connected substantially directly to said conductor and to said supporting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 947,885 Cone Feb. 1, 1910 1,160,544 Steinberger Nov. 16, 1915 1,326,307 Thomas Dec. 30, 1919 1,616,931 Thomas Feb. 8, 1927 1,888,534 Jenner et al Nov. 22, 1932 2,587,587 Bellezza et a1. Mar. 4, 1952 2,606,952 Cofer et a1. Aug. 12, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 384,526 France Feb. 6, 1908 18,101 France Dec. 1, 1913 (Addition to No. 460,732)

479,098 France Nov. 20, 1915 550,405 Germany May 11, 1932 843,042 France Mar. 20, 1939 942,676 France Sept. 20, 1948 

